January 19 at Hartford (2 p.m.)
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LOWELL, Mass. - The UMass Lowell men's basketball team, who is 10-9 overall and 2-2 in America East play so far this year, will visit Hartford for a weekend matinee on Saturday, January 19.
A WIN WOULD
A win would snap a three game skid in the all-time series with the Hawks. It would also give the team its third consecutive America East win and first on the road.
LAST TIME OUT
Propelled by five double-digit scorers, UMass Lowell came from behind in the second half to defeat America East opponent UAlbany on Jan. 16. Sophomore
Obadiah Noel matched a career high with 22 points to lead the offensive effort. Freshman
Bryce Daley also had a breakout game with a personal-best 16 points. Redshirt-junior
Christian Lutete logged his second consecutive double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds, while rookies
Alex Rivera and
Darius Henderson rounded out the double-digit scorers with 12 and 10 points, respectively. The River Hawks trailed the Great Danes by as many as 13 in the first half before mounting a second-half comeback to earn the victory.
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LEADING THE FLOCK
Through 19 games in 2018-19,
Christian Lutete is leading the team with 17.2 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. Sophomore
Obadiah Noel, who follows closely with 16.1 points per game, leads the team with a 74.8 clip from the line and 26 steals.
Alex Rivera is first with 42 three-pointers.
Josh Gantz boasts a team-best 16 blocks, while
Ryan Jones has dished out a team-high 66 assists.
SCOUTING HARTFORD
The Hawks own a 9-9 overall record and a 2-1 mark in conference action. The team has won four of its last five games, including a 77-76 victory against Maine on Jan. 16 in its most recent outing. John Carroll is one of four double-digit scorers for the Hawks with 16.1 points per game. J.R. Lynch, who adds 15.3 points per game, is currently first on the team with 63 assists and 41 steals. George Blagojevic leads the squad with 7.6 rebounds and nine blocks. As a team, Hartford is shooting 43.6 percent from the field, including 35.6 percent on threes, and 76.2 percent from the line.
FAST TRACKED
At 10-9 so far, this season marks the first time that the River Hawks have been .500 or better through 19 games since moving to Division I. It's also the fastest the team has gotten 10 wins during the DI era.
MOMENT OF REFLECTION
The River Hawks are averaging 81.4 points per game, good for 36th in the nation through 19 games this season. In comparison, at the time last year, the team was averaging 74.8 points per game.
ROOKIES RULE
Three River Hawk newcomers scored in double figures in the win against UAlbany for the first time since 2015-16.
Bryce Daley led the way with a career-high 16 points, while
Alex Rivera added 12 and
Darius Henderson totaled a personal-best 10.
SATURDAYS ARE FOR THE BOYS
The Wagner win marked UMass Lowell's first Saturday victory in over a year, since February 4, 2017, snapping an eight-game skid. With five wins since, most recently against UAlbany on Jan. 16, the team is now 6-1 on Saturdays this season.
SECOND HALF IS WHERE IT'S AT
The River Hawks have found strength in the second, as evidenced by
Christian Lutete's DI program-best, 25-point second half on Dec. 1. So far, the team is outscoring their opponents, 813-746, in the second. Additionally, the River Hawks are shooting 50 percent in the second, compared to their opponents, who are shooting just 44 percent.
FREE IS FOR ME
The River Hawks put together their best efforts from the foul line this season against UMBC on Jan. 12 and UAlbany on Jan. 16 (87.5%).
Obadiah Noel, who is pacing the team at the line this season, logged a season-high 10 made at UNH on Jan. 9, marking the second time in his career with double-digits from the line.
HELPING HANDS
The River Hawks set a new Division I program record with 29 assists against Maine Fort Kent on Dec. 7. The squad is currently 17th in the nation with 309 total assists and is first in the America East with 16.26 assists per game.
Ryan Jones became just second player in the program's Division I history to register 10 assists in a game in the NJIT contest on Dec. 1. He is ranked third in the league for assists per game (3.9), as well.
BENCH PRESS-URE
In 19 games this year, the River Hawks have averaged 22.1 points off the bench. This is up from last season, when the squad averaged just 15.3 bench points per game.
SPREADING THE LOVE
Despite heading into 2018-19 having lost 60.6% of their scoring from a season ago, the River Hawks have boasted at least four different double-digit scorers in 15 of their 19 games this season, including a season-high five, 10+ point scorers in five of those games, most recently against UAlbany. The team boasts five different players averaging double-digit points, good for first in the league in that category, as well. Additionally, against UMFK, 10 different River Hawks scored at least a point for the first time in a year.
